A San Francisco judge reduced bail to $250,000 apiece Friday for the husband-and-wife landlords accused of waging a terror campaign against their tenants, after defense attorneys asserted that one of the tenants was trying to milk the couple as a "cash cow."

Superior Court Judge Garrett Wong ordered bail reduced from $350,000 to $250,000 for both Kip Macy, 33, and Nicole Macy, 32, after their attorneys raised issues they said had not been brought to the attention of the judge who set the original bail.

The Macys were arrested April 22 and charged with conspiracy, stalking, theft and other counts related to an alleged campaign to drive tenants from their South of Market apartment building so they could raise rents.

Prosecutors say the couple went so far as to cut the joists supporting the floor of one of the tenants, Scott Morrow, who was resisting eviction from his apartment at 744-746 Clementina St.

At one point, prosecutors said, Nicole Macy called 911 and reported Morrow as a vagrant sleeping in the building. He was removed at gunpoint by police.

Wong did not say which of the many arguments that the Macys' lawyers raised had persuaded him to lower bail. Kip Macy had already posted bail, while Nicole Macy was still in custody as of late Friday.

Michael Whelan, Nicole Macy's lawyer, repeated that his client lacked a criminal record and was not a flight risk. He pointed to her parents in court to show her ties to the community.

He also attacked Morrow, saying his "documented litigious nature" was at the root of the dispute. He said Morrow used litigation "essentially as a cash cow to support him" and had "made $140,000 in litigation connected to this case."

Whelan said Morrow had made many of the same allegations at issue in the prosecution before another judge and lost an effort to get temporary restraining orders against the Macys. He also asserted there was evidence that Morrow had an e-mail account; Morrow has denied having an account in accusing the couple of sending harassing messages under his name.

Prosecutor Max Peltz urged that bail remain the same, saying Morrow was hardly a vexatious litigant. He also stressed that Morrow was just one of four tenants who allegedly had been victimized by the Macys.

Peltz said that over nine years, Morrow has filed four legal actions: a still-pending lawsuit against the Macys, one against the building's prior owners in which he won a settlement, and the failed request for restraining orders against both Macys.

Labeling Morrow a vexatious litigant was a baseless effort to "malign the victim," Peltz said.

Also Friday, the judge denied a defense motion to seal all the documents in the case as well as the original affidavit in support of the complaint. He reasserted his gag order preventing parties in the case from talking to the media, and set June 13 as the next court date for the Macys.